Contents

After the computer game Machiavelli the Prince, Holistic Design decided to do something new - a space strategy computer game, which would eventually become Emperor of the Fading Suns (1996).[1]:322 Holistic brought on two experienced world designers, Andrew Greenberg and Bill Bridges, to create a cohesive and interesting universe for the game, which would also be used as the basis for a tabletop role-playing game to be released simultaneously.[1]:322 Greenberg and Bridges had helped define the style of White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness and, according to Shannon Appelcline, people noticed this game's similarity to the "White Wolf style".[1]:322 Appelcline comments further: "Fading Suns is unique mainly for its distinctive setting. It is a hard science-fiction game, but much of the universe has fallen back to Medieval technology: noble houses, guilds and a monolithic church control most of the power in the universe. Many people compare the universe to that of Frank Herbert's Dune, though Bridges points to Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, Isaac Asimov's Foundation and others as his inspiration."[1]:322 Over the next few years Fading Suns was supported extensively with supplements and for a time the line did well.[1]:322 Holistic released the table-top miniatures game Noble Armada (1998) – co-designed by Ken Lightner and Chris Wiese – a spaceship combat game compatible with Fading Suns.[1]:323Passion Play (1999) was a LARP for Fading Suns.[1]:323 Holistic printed a d20 version of Fading Suns (2001), and then dual-statted later Fading Suns supplements to use both d20 and their own "Victory Point System".[1]:323 Over the next few years Holistic announced a third edition of Fading Suns as well as new games called variously Diaspora, Dystopia, Inc, and Sathranet, which would have been designed using d20 Modern and would have looked into different periods in Fading Suns' history. However, none of these products were released.[1]:324 In 2007 Holistic Design licensed Fading Suns to RedBrick and in 2012 the license passed to FASA Games, Inc which released a revised edition of Fading Suns later that year. In 2014 FASA Games announced they would be releasing a new version of Noble Armada.[2]

The action is set in the Known Worlds, a future medieval-analogue empire built on the remains of a previous, more sophisticated human space-faring civilization made possible by ancient "jumpgates". The jumpgates are relics left by the mysterious Anunnaki, an ancient civilization (or civilizations) which seem to have influenced the evolution of lesser species, such as humans, for their own end, and waged a devastating war many millennia ago using them as tools and weapons.

The atmosphere is strongly reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Dune and of the Hyperion stories by Dan Simmons, but is influenced by many other science fiction and horror books and movies as well, including the Cthulhu Mythos. The Known Worlds are a very superstitious and dangerous place.

Power is administered by five major Noble Houses, five major guilds within the Merchants League, and six major sects of the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun.

While most role-playing situations arise from the strict codes regulating the everyday life of the empire's citizens, the Imperial Age is rife with opportunities for adventure. Following the fall of the old regime, and centuries of darkness and warfare, most worlds have slipped backward to a technology level not much more advanced than 21st century Earth, and a number of alien threats lurk in the shadows. Pushing at the borders of the Known Worlds lurk the mutangenic horror of the Symbiots, the ancient and enigmatic Vau, and the barbarian empires of the Kurgan and the Vuldrok, all waiting for their chance to throw humanity into darkness and chaos.

Players can take the role of either a member of a Noble House, of one the various merchant guilds, or a member of one of the numerous religious sects. A number of alien species, most notably the human-like 'psychic' Ukar and Obun, and the six-limbed, bestial Vorox, are also available as player characters.

Two separate types of occult abilities exist within the game universe: psychic powers and Theurgy. Psychic powers manifest, generally, from the practitioners' own mental abilities. Psionicists, castigated as 'demon worshippers' and heretics, are often hunted down and killed by the Church, or enrolled in the Church's ranks (after a good bit of 're-training'). Theurgy is a kind of ordained divine sorcery practiced by the Church through various approved rites and is capable of producing miracles, often by calling on the assistance of various saints and angels.

The Fading Suns engine uses a simple attribute and skill, level and classless, dice pool-powered system, called the Victory Point System (VPS).[3] The second edition of the game's rules solved many issues raised by the earlier rule book, while increasing the amount of data available. The current Revised Edition further updated and streamlined the VPS mechanics.

While generally stereotypical in their template-like form, characters are easily personalized.

In 2000, an adaptation of the setting to the popular 3rd edition OGL system was also published - D20 Fading Suns. For several years, supplements carried rules for both systems.

Holistic Design has released a LARP version of Fading Suns entitled Passion Play.[4]

Description: Mostly identical to Second Edition main rulebook. The layout was changed slightly, the index was expanded, important tables were gathered and printed in an appendix. Another adventure (called Pandemonium Unchained) was added.

2007 A Road So Dark (PDF; now part of the Shards Collection, below)

Author: Angus McNicholl

Description: an adventure about a previously unknown jumproute between two stellar systems.

2007 Imperial Survey Vol. 7: Church Fiefs

Author: Mat Wakefield

Description: this details the Church planets Artemis, Holy Terra, Pentateuch, De Moley, and Pyre

2007 Kraken's Loom (PDF; now part of the Shards Collection, below)

Author: Angus McNicholl

Description: this adventure leads the characters into barbarian space in search of a lost heirloom, but the situation is complicated by being the strangers in a strange land.

Description: this sourcebook contains reprinted and refreshed material from "Forbidden Lore: Technology", as well as new technological items, ranging from alien technology to weird tech to new weapons and gear.

2008 Ruinous Folly (PDF; now part of the Shards Collection, below)

Author: Angus McNicholl

Description: this adventure takes the characters from a private auction to the turbulent atmosphere of Gargantua in search of a lost treasure, but the treasure has ideas of its own.

2008 Dead End (PDF; now part of the Shards Collection, below))

Author: Thomas Baroli

Description: this adventure takes the characters from a religious ceremony, to an obscure plot of murder and intrigue

2011 Fading Suns Shards Collection Volume One (Print and PDF Release)

Author: Thomas Baroli, Angus McNicholl

Description: compiles and updates the previously released PDF adventures Dead End, Ruinous Folly, Kraken's Loom, and A Road So Dark into one volume.

Description: Three dramas for Fading Suns provide the backdrop to the beginnings of an uprising in the Known Worlds. The al-Malik world of Criticorum is highlighted, with each drama taking place on the planet itself, or within the star system.